In honor of what would have been Howard Phillips Lovecraft’s birthday, I decided to take a listen to the new album from France’s THE GREAT OLD ONES.

This seems like a logical starting point. After all, this beer embodies what I want this blog to be about: Heaviness; complexity; rich, malty deliciousness. Stone’s vintage 2011 Double Bastard is simultaneously punishing and delicious. At 10.5 ABV it will kick you in the face, but it’s not overly boozy tasting. There’s a strong maltiness up front that gives way to hoppy bitterness. It’s smooth like Lando Calrissian. I tasted this fella at Breukelen Bier Merchants. 0